San Diego, CA: Alliant International University's Graduate School of Education (GSOE), I-MERIT and Presidential Lecture Series will sponsor "A World in Transition: Dr. Azyumardi Azra Responds" on April 11, 2008 .

Dr. Azra is an esteemed scholar and international leader of the moderate Muslim view who serves on the Advisory Board of the United Nations Democracy Fund. He is an international proponent of providing educational opportunities to all Indonesians and is involved in issues of extremism, terrorism, national corruption, and relations among Indonesia's religious communities.

Dr. Azyumardi Azra's Bio

* 1986 Columbia University Fulbright Scholar
* Founder and Editor-in-chief of Studia Islamika; Indonesian Journal for Islamic Studies
* Board of editors of Journal of Qur'anic Studies, SOAS, London
* Author of 14 titles including "Renaisans Islam di Asia Tenggara (Renaissance of Islam in Southeast Asia)," winner of the 1999 best book of the year in the field of humanities and social sciences.
* In 1994/1995, named visiting fellow of Southeast Asian Studies at Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, Oxford University
* 2001 - Distinguished International Visiting Professor at Department of Middle Eastern Studies, New York University. He has also lectured at NYU, Harvard University (Asia Center) and Columbia University.
* October 2004 - met with President Bush in Bali as one of the four Indonesian Civil Society Leaders
* May 2005 - received a Doctoral degree of Humane Letters Honoris Causa from Carrol College Montana, USA for his academic achievements, his contributions to worldwide understanding of the Islamic world and his efforts to promote peace between cultures
* August 2005 - received the Bintang Mahaputera Utama from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for his dedication to Indonesia's education